Our starting quartet of Jack Ham (1971, Pittsburgh Steelers), Jack Lambert (1974, Steelers), Ted Hendricks (1969, Baltimore Colts) and Mike Singletary (1981, Chicago Bears) have bronzed busts too. The group also has plenty of championships to its credit, with Ham and Lambert providing four Super Bowl rings apiece thanks to their run with the dominant Steelers of the 1970s and early '80s.

Ham, Lambert, Hendricks and Singletary were second-round selections, but each established himself as top-flight talent early.

Former Penn State star Ham intercepted three passes in a preseason game his rookie season to clinch a starting job. In 1972, he had seven interceptions on his way to 32 in his career. He was elected to eight straight Pro Bowls.

Lambert emerged from Kent State of the Mid-American Conference to become the NFL's Defensive Rookie of the Year. He eventually broke Ham's record with nine straight Pro Bowl selections.

Eleven other defensive prospects were taken in the 1969 NFL-AFL draft before the Colts snagged Hendricks, a 6-foot-7, 215-pound defensive end from Miami (Fla.). Hendricks became a Colts starting linebacker by Game 7 of his rookie season and helped pace the franchise to its first Super Bowl victory in his second year. He would later collect three more rings with the Oakland Raiders.

Like Hendricks, former Baylor star Singletary became a starter by the seventh game of his rookie season -- despite Bears defensive coordinator Buddy Ryan's disdain for rookies. By his third game as a starter, Singletary earned a game ball for a 10-tackle performance. For 11 consecutive seasons, he ranked either first or second on the Bears in tackles.

Oddly enough, the Bears landed Singletary by trading up two slots in the 1981 draft with the San Francisco 49ers -- the team Singletary coaches today.

Sheldon Spencer is an NFL editor at ESPN.com. Thanks to ESPN's Stats & Information crew for their researching efforts, as well as Pro-Football-Reference.com and the Pro Football Hall Of Fame's Web site.